From the makers of Free Music Friday comes Movies Monday, a veritable feast of trailers, ‘making of’ features and other eye candy for the big screen aficionados among you.
We’ll also be delving into the world of TV and generally making sure that there’s no such thing in your life as an idle moment.
Seeing as this is a Bank Holiday Weekend, we thought we’d treat you to this first Movies Monday a bit early. So, without further ado, let’s check out Red Lights, the new spinetingler starring Robert De Niro, Sigourney Weaver and Cork’s very own Cillian Murphy – looking good, ladies! – who we must say does a fine American accent.
 
“Veteran paranormal researchers Dr. Margaret Matheson (Sigourney Weaver) and Tom Buckley (Cillian Murphy) debunk fraudulent claims of ghost whispering, faith healing and other psychic phenomena by detecting what Matheson calls red lights’, the subtle tricks behind every staged supernatural occurrence,” reads the sales pitch. “But when the legendary blind psychic Simon Silver (Robert De Niro) comes out of retirement after 30 years, his once-fearless adversary Matheson warns Buckley to back off, fearing reprisal from the powerful Silver.
“Determined to discredit Silver, Buckley and his star student (Elizabeth Olsen) use every tool at their disposal to uncover the truth behind the charismatic, spoon-bending, mind reader. But Buckley is forced to reexamine his own core beliefs as his quest builds to a mind-blowing conclusion in this taut psychological thriller from award-winning writer and director Rodrigo Cortés (Buried).”
That’s us sold!
 

 
The supernatural thrills don’t end there with Ashley Greene, Sebastian Stan and Tom Felton starring in The Apparition, which premieres in August and seems to have nicked Law & Order’s voice-over man for its trailer.
 

 
 
Lovers of all things Swedish and subtitled – we doubt we’re the only ones suffering Bridge withdrawal symptoms at the moment – will be delighted to learn that the new Wallander movie, The Revenge is coming to a big screen near you soon.
 

 
And coming soon to BBC4 is Steve Van Zandt’s Lilyhammer, the tale of a Mafia man not totally dissimilar to Sil who – along with his rather dodgy toupee – flees to the titular Norwegian backwater after ratting out his former brothers. More overtly comical than The Sopranos, it looks an absolute gem of a series.
 

 
 
The first of two Movies Monday documentaries this week is The Invisible War, an investigation into the estimated 18,000 American military personnel who are sexually assaulted every year by colleagues. A big hit at the Sundance, it’s out Stateside in a month’s time.
 

 
Also catching Movies Monday’s eye is The Imposter, the stranger than fiction tale of a young boy kidnapped from his Texas home and three-and-a-half-years later turns up in Spain. Or does he?
 

 
Another big Sundance hit is On The Road, a stylish looking adaptation of the Jack Kerouac cult classic starring Garrett Hedlund, Sam Riley, Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Amy Adams, Viggo Mortensen and Tom Sturridge.
 

 
Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joaquin Phoenix share top billing in The Master, a religious cult movie from the maker of There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson.
 

 
It’s a mere three weeks until HBO’s The Newsroom makes its Sky Atlantic bow. Starring Jeff Daniels, it looks like a nailed-on TV classic.
Here’s the full set of trailers to whet your appetite!
 

 

 

 
Superhero fans will want to check out this first glimpse of The Arrow, one of the CW Channel’s big Fall – that’s the Autumn to you – offerings.
“After a violent shipwreck, Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island,” says the blur. “His mother Moira, sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. Oliver secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory.”
Any resemblance to Smallville would appear to be purely intentional.
 

 
Pot growers Ben and Chon take on the Mexican Baja drug cartel in Oliver Stone’s Savages, which includes John Travolta, Uma Thurman and Benicio Del Toro among its illustrious cast. That’s one of our July nights out taken care of!
 
 

 
Last up today is Holy Motors, the decidedly avant garde new French film, which includes Eva Mendes and Kylie Minogue among its cast. It should be of much national pride that the Ms. Minogue gets to sing a brand new Neil Hannon composition amidst all this Gallic existentialism.